AboutMike Hernandez Expertise I can answer questions that pertain to transition, coming out, dating, surgical options, etc., related to FTMs (female to male) and genderqueer individuals with a masculine gender expression.
Experience I'm FTM who started transition in 1991. I have published articles and have spoken at colleges and universities on being and living as a transgendered individual. I have also presented workshops at a variety of FTM/transgendered conferences including FTM Conference of the Americas (1995-1997), Southern Comfort (late 1990s) Forward Motion (1999), Gender Odyssey (2000, 2004), and Forge (2007). I was one of several organizers of the Forward Motion conference.
Organizations Former boardmember of FTM Alliance of Los Angeles, Inc.
Publications "Transgendered Lust " appearing in From the Inside Out: Radical Gender Transformation, FTM and Beyond by Morty Diamond (San Francisco: Manic Press, 2004)
A contribution to Bears on Bears by Ron Suresha (San Francisco: Alyson Publications, 2002);
"Redemption" appearing in Best Lesbian Erotica, ed. Tristan Taormino (San Francisco: Cleis Press 2001); Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica 2 , ed. Tristan Taormino (San Francisco: Cleis Press 2004); originally appearing in Academy: Tales of the Market Place by Laura Antoniou (New York: Mystic Rose Books, 2000);
Appearance in Transmen & FTMS: Identities, Bodies, Genders & Sexualities by Jason Cromwell (University of Illinois Press, 1999);
"I Am Neither Man Nor Woman" Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue, ed. Leslie Feinberg (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998);
"Holding My Breath Under Water" Looking Queer , ed. Dawn Atkins (Boston: Hayworth Press, 1998);
"Boundaries: Gender and Transgenderism," The Second Coming , eds. Pat(rick) Califia and Robin Sweeney (San Francisco: Alyson Publications, 1996); and
# "Packing, Passing & Pissing," Dagger , eds. Lily Burana, Roxxie, and Linnea Due (San Francisco: Cleis Press, 1994).
Question Hello...for the beginning, thank you for reserving some time for my question as well...my name is Cristina and i am 17 years old...i know i am young, but i also have a question that has been tourmenting me a lot...until recently i thought i was straight...then, there were a couple of months i thought i was gay/lesbian...but then...i though...the only things that turn me on are not boys or girl...but gay guys....i love when two boys/men kiss and all that....my greatest dream is to get to Harvard, Yale or any other top-university..and i know i have chances to get accepted there...but i've also been thinking if when i'll be older...if it is wrong that i am thinking about a transexual surgery to become a boy.......and be...gay...(everytime, since i was little, everytime when someone asked me whats my biggest dream i would answer "i wish i were a boy and especially a gay boy"...is that weird?...strange?)...
Thank you in advance for your answer !All the best !
Answer Greetings:
First of all, congratulations on your achievements. I wish you the very best getting into Harvard.
Your question is not strange at all. I remember one of my earliest memories was wanting to be a boy. Thinking that was not possible and that what I really wanted was to be with girls, I lived as a lesbian for awhile. When I discovered that it was possible to become a man (by that time I was 29/30 years old), it threw me for a huge loop.
I transitioned and my attraction to men increased. I pursued those interests/desires and very much identify as gay. It's not easy though. The surgeries are not all that they are cracked up to be. If you do pursue this path there will be some difficult choices that you'll have to make and some substantial challenges to overcome.
Some gay men will reject you just because you are trans. Frankly, part of being gay is learning to deal with rejection. A lot of life is about how you deal with things that don't exactly go your way. A positive attitude and strong self esteem go a long way.
Perhaps things are different with the younger crowd. Hopefully today's youth (16-25) are more open minded about sex and gender.
What I can tell you is that you are not alone. I know quite a few gay FTMs. In fact, there's an annual FTM conference that takes place in Seattle over Labor Day weekend each year. It's called Gender Odyssey.
